Bush Stuffs Spending Bills With Earmarks For Dad’s Foundation, Wife’s Librarian Program

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/15/bush-retaliates-earmarks/

Bush Stuffs Spending Bills With Earmarks For Dad’s Foundation, Wife’s Librarian Program

freshcong.gif On Monday, President Bush explained his veto of the recent Labor-HHS bill, claiming the “majority” in Congress had abandoned his “clear goals for the Congress to reform the earmarking process” and was “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.”

In reality, Bush “stuffs the budget with billions for pet projects.” According to Senate Democrats, Bush placed 580 earmarks worth $15.6 billion in a recent military and veterans appropriations request, along with “billions” in the energy and water spending bill:

Some presidential earmarks have obvious roots, such as $24 million for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The president earmarked a billion dollars for the Reading First program, which was criticized by government auditors for steering contracts to favored companies. He also sought $8.9 million for the Points of Light foundation, a pet project started by his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Congress slashed $676 million from Bush’s request for Reading First and eliminated the Points of Light funding. Bush retaliated by vetoing the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill.

The Democratic-led Congress has made major advances in earmark reform in contrast to the profligate spenders of recent conservative-led Congresses. An analysis by Citizens Against Government Waste estimates that earmarks in FY08 appropriations bills are “down about 33 percent from the $29 billion in earmarks in FY06 spending bills”:

The report showed a significant reduction in one of the largest magnets for earmarks, the Defense appropriations bill. The FY08 measure, by the group’s reckoning, included 2,074 projects worth $6.6 billion. This compared to 2,822 projects worth $14.9 billion in the FY06 bill.

The group also said Democrats have made strides against earmarks in the Labor-HHS spending bill, which Bush vetoed Tuesday.

Last week, Bush also hypocritically lambasted “the majority” in Congress, ignoring the fact that the largest earmarks in the legislation that he vetoed were from Republican Sens. Mitch McConnnell (KY) and Richard Shelby (AL).

“Republicans’ newfound fascination with spending stems from a simple reality: They suffered badly over the issue in 2006,” notes the Wall Street Journal. Ironically, President Bush should be the target in his “war over earmarks.“

[old guy]

1. It seems to me to be very easy to correct.

The committee can simply delete all his earmarks and start from there. There is no reason to give him anything he wants. He is irrelevant. Just saying.

[Thothmes]

9. The Committee

should cross out all earmarks. Whether they are Bush's or not.

[old guy]

10. That would work too!

[Horse with no Name]

2. Not to mention the tax breaks the woman who spawned him got from Katrina donations

that benefited her other good-for-nothing spawn.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html
>>>snip
Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Since then, the Ignite Learning program has been given to eight area schools that took in substantial numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

"Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools," said Jean Becker, former President Bush's chief of staff. "She knew that HISD was using this software program, and she's very excited about this program, so she wanted to make it possible for them to expand the use of this program."

[babylonsister]

3. It would be blissful to see this house come tumblin' down!

Is what the dim one is doing even legal, I wonder. Isn't this kind of action frowned upon, benefitting family members through a high federal position?

[Horse with no Name]

5. The rule of law hasn't mattered for the last 7 years

and I highly doubt it will matter for the next 1.
He already gave away the bank account to his croneys, I guess he is going to give the penny jar to his family.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

6. Jesus Christ.

:yoiks:

[spanone]

4. i'm resting assured that our mainstream journalists will pounce on this story

and expose this cabal for the criminals that th........naw

[DCKit]

7. Here's an idea: NO EARMARKS

And no signing statements either.

[formercia]

8. Points of Light Foundation

"$8.9 million for the Points of Light foundation, a pet project started by his father, former President George H.W. Bush."

If I remember correctly, when they were audited, their overhead was around 97%. It's just a cash cow for the bots that run it.

[Supersedeas]

11. not to be mentioned by the GoP Media Establishment on TV...ever...next please